Cost of a Picture

For years photographers have struggled with what to charge. What is the worth of a photo? It is said that a photograph is worth a thousand words but words do not always pay the bills nor reflect the worth to the photographer or the customer, and not all images are created equal... So what is a fair price?

I was up late last night messaging a friend and fellow photographer. He asked me what I felt was a fair price for one of his awesome images and I hate to say it but my answer was "I don't know". I told him to look around his local area and see what others were charging for similar style images. He sent me several links to photographers and my jaw hit the ground. Prints that I had sold for $30-$40 were selling in the triple digits. Just wow!!!

Most who know me know I try to have a philosophical approach to things and that trend usually transfers to my images. I have heard some say that you take the price of printing an image and do a 300% mark up or B= Ax3. One problem with this theory is that it does not come anywhere near the cost of capture (the total cost that it took to get the image and have it printed). As photographers we are often looking for that 1 image. The one image that defines our journey. It does not matter if you took 5 pictures or 1000, it is the one that means the difference.

So lets explore the Cost of Capture for a minute. It has been said that to get amazing images you must go to some place amazing. That takes money of course, vehicle, camera systems, support systems, food, lodging, clothing. Many items are highly specified to the task. For instance tripods for long exposure landscapes start at around $300 for the legs only. $180 for a quality ball head. High quality super wide angle lenses start around $1000. This is just a start, there really is a lot to factor in. And lets look at wildlife, well first you have to find the species your looking to photograph $$$. Wildlife photography can get expensive fast. Proper lenses alone jump into the $3k range fast and significantly jump from there even. Fast cameras that excel in low light such as the Nikon D4 and Canon 1Dx can't even be found used for under $5k so you can only guess at the cost of a new one.

So you may be seeing the big picture of why some of these images are so expensive and remember we have not even paid our own bills on it yet. Many photographers scrape a living or treat it as a second job. The simple fact is that we love to be out and taking those pictures and even when it gets rough out and our bodies are going through hell, our shutter fingers are twitching to get the shot that will give you some insight, to motivate, to tell a story that words would only corrode.

As photographers we also understand the value of a dollar as we continuously strive to stretch our own but we also know that what we have to offer is one of a kind. My personal goal is to inspire people from all walks to get out and explore our world. It might be hard to believe that the image above cost me over $500 to get but after all is said and done, that is the reality and while I do not expect to be paid back based on one image, it is, at least in my opinion, the best image from the trip and it was the most complex to make happen. So to consider a 10x20 canvas print at $200 it could be considered a bargain and at $200 I have to sell 3 to even begin making money back on the product. So is it worth it? Absolutely, for me it is my window to the world, my peace, my sanity. I do not create specifically for others, I create for myself and share with others.

SO the next time you are looking to buy a picture, remember it is not the cost of printing you are paying for, but the cost of everything it took to get the image, to acquire the skills and the equipment to be where the photographer needed to be to get that specific shot. Artistic photography is also very different from portrait photography although I see planty of people who undercut themselves in the hopes of gaining more clients. The sad reality is that those people effect the industry and in the long run they will not be around on a serious level to understand what they have done by pricing themselves out of the market. Photographers wirk extremely hard to get the shots they you all love to see online, in galleries, and specially on your walls. Honestly, in today's world the biggest complement you could pay a photographer is to buy a print. Not only does it help us pay our bills but it also says that our work is inspiring to you.